


Coffee

by Beth Harker (Beth_Harker)



Category: Newsies (1992)
Genre: Canon Era, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-26
Updated: 2013-09-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 14:26:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17163653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beth_Harker/pseuds/Beth%20Harker
Summary: David spends the night at the Duane Street Lodging House.  He's not a morning person.





	Coffee

It wasn’t the first time David had ever slept at the Newsboys’ lodging house on Duane Street. It was just the first time he’d done so in the winter. The day started at a quarter to five, and there wasn’t even a hint of morning to it. The birds didn’t sing, and the sky was as inky black as it’d been at midnight. Even so, Kloppman made his way through the bunks, shouting that all of them were sleeping their lives away. 

Had David been more awake, he might have pointed out that he was at least dragging himself out of bed with more promptness and enthusiasm than the sun was using to drag itself up into the sky where it belonged. As things were, he trudged zombie-like over to the bathroom, where an ill-fated attempt at washing his face with toothpaste and freezing cold water left him blinking in a bewildered, mint-scented daze. 

“I thought Dave was supposed to be the smart one,” Racetrack commented, as he snatched the toothpaste tube away from David, and began very pointedly squeezing it onto a toothbrush that looked like it had seen more chilly mornings than its worn out bristles could handle. 

“He is,” Jack countered. “Toothpaste is good for your skin, and anybody who knows anything about anything knows that. What do you think keeps him looking so young? Toothpaste! That’s what! Not to imply nothin’, but you might wanna to try it out yourself.”

Jack cast Racetrack a look that seemed awfully significant to David, but since he couldn’t work out why, he muttered something that even he couldn’t completely understand about how he’d thought the toothpaste was soap and Mush really needed to stop singing now. 

Race spent the rest of the morning composing a very detailed manifesto on the differences between soap and toothpaste, not that David cared. He hadn’t had a cup of coffee yet that morning, and not doing so always left him with a splitting headache. 

—- 

It wasn’t much later that they were heading off to work. There was a lot that David liked about sleeping at the lodging house. Most of it had to do with sleeping next to Jack. Only a little of it had to do with how exuberant the other boys were in the morning. Usually, when he looked back on it, the idea of them all moving in a big group, jumping on some things, climbing up others, and discussing nonsense headlines the whole way was a nice thought. When it was happening, though, David usually just wanted them to give walking to work in silence a try. He figured it would be a great way for them to gather their thoughts and go into the day with a clear head, which David most certainly hadn’t gained yet. No sun and all. 

David hung back as most of the other newsies went to get their breakfast from the nuns who hung around the square each morning waiting for them. He didn’t quite need it, after all, and the other boys did. He was surprised when Jack made it back to his side with a cup of coffee, instead of his usual hunk of bread. 

“Here,” Jack said.

“But it’s yours.” 

“Hate coffee,” Jack explained. 

“You shouldn’t have taken it then. You should have asked for…” 

Jack rolled his eyes, “Just drink it, and then try talking to me Dave.”

“I don’t need any ch—”

“It ain’t from the nuns, it’s from me so…” 

“But why?” David interrupted. As soon as it’d exited his mouth, he knew that it was a dumb question. More likely than not Jack would laugh at him and tell him that he needed to talk like something a little more advanced than your average caveman if they were going to get their papes sold. 

In the end, though, Jack didn’t laugh at him, though he did grin like he was on the verge of it. He slung his arm around David’s shoulder, tugging him closer so that his face was near his ear. 

“Could be that I like you,” Jack said, in a voice that made a shiver run through David that had nothing to do with the cold. He took a sip of his coffee.


End file.
